Kukje Electronics Center (Gukjeon): figure and gacha shopping guide

The Cue

The address is **304 Hyoryeong-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul**. Arrive via **Nambu Bus Terminal Station on Line 3 → underground passage → B1 lift**, or take the route above ground: **Exit 3 → a one-minute walk → G1 entrance**. The **“Seocho-gu Office / Kukje Electronics Center” bus stop is served by green bus 4319 and village buses Seocho 07 and Seocho 17**. **Opening hours and days off vary by shop, so check each shop’s official information separately.** Start browsing on 9F, work down through the building, then return to the shops you choose after comparing.

From Nambu Bus Terminal Station without going above ground

Hina gets off at Nambu Bus Terminal Station on Line 3 and heads towards the underground passage to Kukje Electronics Center. It leads into the building on B1, where a lift takes her upstairs. Keeping the journey to the building separate from the shopping route inside makes the day easier to follow. She writes Nambu Bus Terminal Station, B1 and 9F at the top of her notes, then lowers her phone for a moment.

Open in Kakao Map — Kukje Electronics Center

For the route above ground, head to the G1 entrance, a one-minute walk from Exit 3 of Nambu Bus Terminal Station. Exit 3 takes you above ground, while the underground passage leads straight inside. By bus, get off at “Seocho-gu Office / Kukje Electronics Center”, served by green bus 4319 and village buses Seocho 07 and Seocho 17. Save 304 Hyoryeong-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul on your map, along with the entrance you plan to use.

On B1, Hina walks towards the stainless-steel lift and stops where she can read the floor directory. She knows where she is going first, but wants a clear picture of the layout before heading up. A floor number alone leaves her deciding at every stop whether to browse or move on. The directory gives her the broad layout, and she can add actual shop locations as she walks.

The directory marks figures on 7F and 8F too, while merch shops are scattered from 2F to 9F. In the summer 2026 layout, shops once concentrated on 9F have spread to 7F and 8F as well. Use the directory’s categories to decide where to look first, rather than assuming every shop on a floor sells the same things. Hina adds 8F and 7F below 9F in her notes, sketching out her route down.

Start with figures, plastic models and gacha on 9F, board games, squishy toys and blind-box goods on 8F, and the figure shops on 7F. Below those, the music shops on 4F and the kuji and gacha shops on 3F make further browsing stops. B1 is both the arrival floor and the place to find the passage back to the station. If you save the floor diagram on your phone, keep it easy to open alongside your shopping list.

While waiting for the lift, Hina settles on B1 as the starting point for her return journey too. With shopping bags to carry later, remembering the arrival floor and the passage to the station will help. The G1 entrance is there for leaving above ground, but her route today sticks to the underground passage. With the entrance and floors clear in her mind, she switches from the transport map to her merch list.

Before going up to 9F, narrow down the list

Before leaving her accommodation, Hina divides her growing merch list into three parts. First comes the figure she really wants, followed by small accessories to browse and, finally, draws to try if her budget allows. Even within the same anime range, something for her room calls for a different size from something to hang on her bag. Beside each item, she notes where it will go and thinks about the space its box will take in her suitcase.

When she visited a pop-up at The Hyundai Seoul, Hina chose her destination floor before entering the building. That day began with finding the event location in its notice, but at Gukjeon she plans to start on 9F and choose as she works down. Finding things on several floors, comparing them and returning to a shop suits today’s list. The first step changes with the place and what she has come to see.

Set a total budget and reserve money for your must-buy before finding more things to add. Hina writes separate amounts for her figure and for kuji and gacha, so several small draws will not use up the money for her original choice. There is no need to spend the full amount, and the final part of the list can stay empty. When something unexpected catches your eye, pause to decide where it belongs before adding it.

This is also the time to check each shop’s hours. Some open at 10 a.m. and others at 11 a.m., and even shops that close on the first and third Sunday can have different public-holiday schedules. Read your target shop’s official information for your visit date and closing time, rather than treating one shop’s hours as the building’s hours. If a shop you want closes early, visit it first, then resume browsing from 9F down.

Hina packs her charged phone and a large foldable bag, then rereads the must-buy at the top of her notes. She has a little cash ready and plans to ask about payment methods in each shop. Instead of a list trying to cover every display, she has a clearer idea of what to look for and where to pack it afterwards. On 9F, that leaves more time for looking at the actual goods.

On 9F, the first find can wait

9F brings together game consoles, figures, dolls and gacha machines, with several shops specialising in figures and plastic models. Browsing the range here first helps establish what to compare on the floors below. As Hina approaches a display case, she thinks of the figure at the top of her list. At a concert she looks for a good view of the stage, but today she is choosing something small to bring home and look at for much longer, and her pace slows.

At the first display case, Hina finds a figure she likes and opens her notes instead of her camera. It is close to what she came for, and she is tempted to go straight to the till, but records the floor, shop location and displayed price first. A brief note about its position in the case will help her find it again. One reason for liking it is enough to add before moving on to the next display.

When noting prices, read the product details too, so similar-looking items do not become false comparisons. Check the size, what is included and the version you want, then write down the shop’s current price. Hina realises “small figure” will be hard to recognise later and adds a line describing its features. If the box matters to your collection, look at the packaging on display and ask staff about the item you would receive.

Even a quick reference photo needs to follow the shop’s signs and staff instructions. Ask what can be photographed, and keep other customers and the results of their draws out of the frame. Where photos are not allowed, write down the floor, location, price and identifying details instead. Hina steps aside to finish her notes, then returns her attention to the display rather than holding her phone up in the aisle.

The gacha aisle slows her again, with different goods behind each small window. 9F has a particularly large concentration of gacha machines, so it is a useful place to browse and narrow down the ones that interest her. Hina imagines a small item hanging from her bag, then looks back at the figure listed for her room. She is leaving any draws until she has seen the lower floors, so for now she notes the locations of machines she might return to.

Before leaving 9F, Hina has the first figure and a few smaller possibilities listed together. She has bought nothing yet, but her preferences are clearer than when she arrived. Waiting until she has seen the lower floors lets her compare prices and products, as well as notice which item stays on her mind. She rereads the first display’s location, puts away her phone and heads for the escalator to 8F.

Keep browsing on 8F, 7F and the floors below

On the escalator with red handrails, Hina smiles at the thought of the small figure upstairs. Even as she heads down to browse more, she has already pictured where it would go at home. On 8F, shops selling board games, squishy toys and blind-box goods offer the next things to explore. After the figures and machines on 9F, this floor invites a closer look at how each item might be played with or used.

A little squishy toy looks just right for her palm, and Hina adds an unexpected possibility to the second part of her list. Finding something unplanned is part of the pleasure of walking through several floors. Blind-box goods, though, call for a different decision from buying the exact item visible in a display. Knowing whether only one design appeals, or any result would be welcome, changes how to choose even between similarly sized things.

If a board game catches your eye, think about the space needed to carry its box home. When the main aim is a small figure, it helps to picture how one wide box would fit around the other things in your suitcase. Hina browses the board games with her existing shortlist and remaining bag space in mind. Something interesting can stay on a list for another visit without becoming a purchase today.

7F also has figures marked on the directory, making it another stop before ending the search on 9F alone. With merch demand extending onto 7F and 8F, the same interests can lead to shops on several floors. Hina records the locations and prices of anything she likes on 7F in the same format. Later on the bench, she will be able to compare them with her 9F finds without searching through differently arranged notes.

Continue down one floor at a time, without giving every aisle the same amount of attention. Merch shops are scattered from 2F to 9F, so note the floor and location whenever something interests you, then carry on. On 4F, music shops cover karaoke equipment, musical instruments, records and audio. Hina’s love of concerts draws her towards the records for a moment, giving her a little music browsing apart from the merch list.

Next, 3F has a shop handling kuji, capsule toys, miniatures and figures, as well as a shop lined with gacha machines. After thinking about how things look and where they will go, it is time to look at how to pay and receive them. For a shorter visit, browse 9F, 8F and 7F first, then choose lower floors with the time left. Hina has allowed time to continue down today, so she puts her unpaid shortlist aside and reads the draw instructions on 3F.

On 3F, read the kuji and gacha rules first

Kuji and gacha both involve the fun of a draw, but the steps to receiving an item differ. One kuji shop on 3F gives five steps: choose a series, decide how many tickets to buy, pay, draw the tickets and collect the prizes matching their grades. Before lingering over the prizes, Hina considers how many tickets she wants. She plans to keep the number within her draw budget rather than continue until she gets a favourite.

At this shop, every kuji ticket wins a prize matching the grade printed on it. Receiving a prize does not mean choosing its grade or the exact item. Hina looks across the whole series instead of focusing only on the prize she wants most, thinking about which results she would be happy with. If buying several tickets, check their total against your planned number and ask staff about the process before paying.

After browsing the kuji, Hina pictures the difference between drawing a ticket and turning a machine’s handle. Gacha means inserting the specified coins or tokens, turning the handle and receiving a capsule. The goods may be similarly small, but payment and what goes into the machine differ, so kuji instructions do not carry over to the next shop. Read the instructions on your chosen machine first, including what to insert and how many.

One gacha shop on 3F exchanges money for tokens usable only in that shop. It offers them in batches of 10, 5 or 1, with no refunds after exchange. Treat this as that shop’s procedure, rather than a rule for every gacha machine in the building. Hina decides to browse the machines and choose her draws before changing only the number of tokens she needs.

Count both the tokens needed per turn and the number of turns you plan to take. For several machines, adding up each requirement before exchanging helps avoid leftovers. Hina hesitates between two small items, then notes only the location of the one she wants more today. She leaves the exchange until after comparing her list on the bench, finishing her notes so she can recognise the location from outside the shop too.

Keep questions brief and specific, such as “Is this token only valid here?” or “How many tokens does this machine take?” Hina adds these phrases below her notes to help match the machine instructions with the number to exchange. Pointing to the machine and asking how many it needs gives her a way to begin without a long explanation of the product. Reading the usage and refund rules before changing money leaves fewer decisions for afterwards.

After a gacha draw, use the shop’s capsule collection bin if it has one. Put kuji packaging in the bin the shop provides, and do not photograph another customer’s goods or draw results without permission. Even if she opens a capsule later, Hina plans to gather its small parts and information leaflet before disposing of the empty shell. With the instructions clear, she can finish browsing down to 2F and find somewhere to compare the floors’ possibilities together.

Compare on a bench, then decide what to buy

After browsing down to 2F, Hina sits on a bench beside the escalator and holds her phone in both hands. Benches near the escalators and lifts on each floor offer a brief rest and somewhere to plan the next move. The list grew one item at a time while she walked, but sitting down lets her see the floors side by side. Beside her original three groups, she adds “what I came for”, “unexpected find” and “next time”, sorting what to buy today from what to leave.

She starts with the figure on 9F and the possibilities noted below. Keeping floor, location, identifying details and price in the same order makes it easier to remember what appealed. For the same product, compare price and packaging condition, while different products call for a look back at what matters most on the list. Hina lingers over the squishy toy from 8F, then chooses her original figure and one small gacha item for today.

After adding the figure’s price to her planned draw spending, she pictures fitting both purchases into her bag. Only after considering the shopping bags and box size does Hina decide which floors to return to. First comes the figure on 9F, followed by her chosen machine on 3F, then B1. Browsing took her all over the building, but buying now means returning only to the locations left in her notes.

Before paying, ask which payment methods the shop accepts, including whether your foreign-issued card works. Tax refunds depend on the participating shop, eligible goods and the traveller’s eligibility, so ask each shop about availability and the required steps. Hina saves “Can I pay with this card?” and “Is tax refund available?” as questions to ask before paying. If claiming a refund, keep the refund documents and receipts, and follow the conditions for opening the goods and taking them out of Korea.

As a general precaution when buying merch, appearance and logos alone cannot reliably identify counterfeits. If a seller outside the official retail channels offers a price far below the genuine item’s price, consider both the seller’s reliability and the price level. Hina looks up from her price comparisons and decides to check the actual item and box again before paying. She gets up to return to the saved locations, leaving the other possibilities under “next time”.

Gather the last bag and return through the underground passage

Back on 9F, Hina chooses her figure, pays and gathers the item and receipt in her bag. She positions the box so its corners will not be crushed, then heads to 3F, exchanges only the tokens needed for her chosen machine and receives one small capsule. Before disposing of an empty capsule, gather the contents and small parts, then look around for anything left behind. With her shopping bags counted and her phone and wallet accounted for, she heads down to B1.

For a longer rest, B1 has places to eat and cafés, while the 1F plaza also has seating. Having already rested on the bench, Hina heads straight for the B1 passage towards the station. If adding a meal or another break, consider somewhere to set down the boxes and what comes next in the day. Finding the B1 lift she remembered on arrival brings her route through the floors back to the way she came in.

(※ This article includes staged images created with AI.)

Common Mistakes

• Assuming the whole building keeps the same hours — Opening hours and days off vary by shop. Check your visit date and the closing time in each target shop’s official information.
• Buying everything at the first shop on 9F — Note the floor, location, identifying details and price, then compare after browsing downstairs. Check whether items are the same product and look at packaging condition too.
• Exchanging lots of tokens first — Some shop-specific tokens work only there and cannot be refunded. Browse the machines, decide how many turns to take and work out the required tokens before exchanging.
• Assuming card payment and tax refunds are available — Acceptance of your card and eligibility for a tax refund are separate questions. Ask the shop about each before paying.

FAQ

Recap — 30 seconds before you leave